YotC: From Friends to Forever by Karen Templeton

Well, this is the last YotC entry. Thanks to KMont for hosting this challenge during the year. I hope that some folks have realized that categories can be great reading.

Tony Vaccaro had been part of Lili Szabo's life since she was a lovesick teenager with a major-league crush. Now the high school athlete was a widowed single dad with a trio of energetic little girls relying on him—and no time for romance.

Little Lili had grown up! Fourteen years ago, she was like a cute kid sister. Now she had the potential to be so much more. But a shocking secret was about to split Tony's world apart. The question was, could he count on Lili to pick up the pieces?
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I love Karen Templeton’s books. Her characters come off as real people, with real people problems. I loved the story in this one, but there were some things that bothered me. I always like to start positive, so…

I really liked Tony. Trying to survive after a spouse’s death is everyone’s biggest fear. And raising 3 young girls alone? Yikes! I liked that he was all about being devoted to his kids. He came across as a real parent. With a real preteen. Surly, uncommunicative, and add trying to come to terms with her mom’s death to it, and Claire is not a happy little girl to live with. I did like that she tried to be honest with herself when it truly counted. It showed a level of maturity that I think an oldest sibling would likely have in her circumstances.

Daph was adorable, as was Josie. I thought she had a rather large vocabulary for 18 months, but hey, it’s fiction. I could sympathize with Tony’s fear of losing his youngest daughter, while at the same time trying to come to grips with his late wife’s betrayal. All the emotions portrayed were realistic, believable, and very well written.

The story itself was great. I liked Lili a lot. She’d had a rather rough upbringing, but never seemed to resent it. She always looked on the bright side, but was no Pollyanna. She and Tony were good together. I liked that they didn’t jump into bed, regardless of the attraction that they both acknowledged.

There are two main things that I didn’t care for. One, there was an awful lot of internalizing. All the characters’ thoughts were spelled out. In great detail. A lot. I’d rather have some internalizing and more dialogue and interaction than the other way around.

Also, the accents. Drove me batshit crazy. I think that the “g” on Templeton’s keyboard must have been broken. Tony never said a word that ended in “ing” with the “g”. Goin’, thinkin’, doin’… well you get the picture. And Aunt Magda had a stereotypical Slavic accent. Spelled out in detail every time she opened her mouth. But Lili, also from Hungary, didn’t have her speech spelled out in the same way. It was noted that her accent got heavier at times, but the actual dialect was not written. I’d much prefer that, and although the accent did serve to make Magda larger than life because you could hear everything she said in that accent, still… it detracted from the reading experience.

Karen Templeton is a go-to author for me. There were just a couple things that bothered me enough to make this not my favorite. But Templeton fans will likely not mind enough to stop reading.

YotC: One Good Man by Alison Kent

Ten years ago Jamie Danby was the only survivor of a senseless killing spree. Because the killer was never found, Jamie has lived her life in hiding, waiting for the worst. Now she's in danger again and she's not sure she can handle it. Until one sexy, rugged, gorgeous man strides into her life, determined to protect her at any cost!

Kell Harding is a Texas Ranger—and how! They don't make 'em tougher. Jamie soon finds out that they don't make 'em hotter either!

But Kell plans only to keep Jamie safe—not keep her forever. As soon as his assignment is done, so is he.

At least, that's what he thinks…
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It’s very difficult to write really complete stories in category length, especially Blaze, IMO, where so much of the emphasis is on the sex. Alison Kent is an author who excels in this format, never shortchanging the story or the characters for the sake of the sex.

In this book, Jamie was the sole survivor of a mass murder in a diner, and 10 years later, the cold case has been reopened and Kell is the Ranger assigned. He’s determined to not only solve the case, but also to help Jamie in any way he possibly can. Here is one instance where the title of the book is actually truly fitting.

Here’s a book where almost all the issues belong to the heroine. Rightfully so. She’s beautifully flawed. She drinks. She is distrustful. She is skittish. She is unwilling to think about tomorrow. Kent establishes this slowly, but by the time that Jamie and Kell have sex, we understand it and want Kell to break through and heal her. Even though Kell is sure he will walk away when the case is solved, he finds he is unable to, and we’ve seen him day by day become tied more closely to Jamie.

I can’t recall a single Alison Kent book that I’ve not enjoyed. She’s able to write a complete book in category length; one that doesn’t feel rushed or forced in any way, yet when it’s finished, you can feel that the H/H are in love. She’s one of my favorite contemporary authors, whether it’s single title or category. The Sweetest Taboo is one of my all-time favorite Blazes, and I just finished With Extreme Pleasure, and really liked that one as well. King is a great hero. Loved him.

But I digress... Point was, that I really liked One Good Man. If you're looking for a good Blaze to warm up with on a cold night, this is a good one :)

Year of the Category: First Come Twins by Helen Brenna

Blurb via HelenBrenna.com: He couldn't stay.
She couldn't leave.

Noah Bennett swore he'd never return to Mirabelle Island. Facing the love of his life after she married his older brother would've been too much to bear. But when Noah's injured as a photojournalist embedded with the military, the only safe place to go is home.

Although a few surprises await Noah on his return, one constant remains. Sophie Rousseau, now a widow with teenage twins, is an entrenched in island life as ever, and she'll do whatever it takes to get Noah off her island. Before the only man she's ever loved breaks her heart all over again.
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This HSR is the first in a new series for Brenna, the Mirabelle Island series. Noah and Sophie have known each other all their lives, and became high school sweethearts, inseparable. But Noah can't stand being stuck on the island, and after her parents die, Sophie feels like she has to stay and take over the family inn, what she views as her heritage. So she gives up her dream and refuses to go.

In a moment of despondency shortly after Noah left, Sophie turned to his older brother. They slept together, and then got married. Sophie turned up pregnant with twins a few months later, but didn't know who the father was - Noah or his brother. Still, she had a good marriage until her husband died 13 years later. They never did any tests to determine paternity.

Noah comes home, a BKA after an injury suffered in Iraq. He's angry, suffering from PTSD, and unable to write. That's where the story begins.

This is a sweet, poignant story about reunited lovers who have a world of hurt and misunderstanding between them. Noah feels like Sophie got over him far too quickly by marrying his brother, and Sophie can't understand why Noah left without saying goodbye. Each had their reasons, but it obviously took the length of the book to get there.

I appreciated Ms Brenna highlighting the plight not only of the soldiers in Iraq, but of the journalists there, especially after the news today of well-known CBS journalist Cami McCormick, who was injured in an IED attack. The soldier traveling with her was killed, as was the case in Brenna's book. I think that the world just assumes that these people just pick up and move on with no lingering effects. The difficulties that Noah faced - both physical and emotional - were very real, and I'm sure, quite true.

I had a bit of a harder time with Sophie, I admit. I wasn't quite sure why she married Noah's brother before she knew she was pregnant. But getting over that, she seemed quite mired in her fear of leaving the island. Brenna explains the fear, but never really the underlying reason. It's an interesting thought, though. Thinking that someone who lives in such an isolated community could become so fearful of being in the city, even for an afternoon excursion.

I enjoyed the fact that Noah and Sophie both acted like grownups for the most part. Even when Sophie admitted that she wasn't sure of the twins' paternity, there was no implication on either side (as is so common) of the "I'm going to take the kids away from you." She simply let him have some time to get to know the kids. He simply respected his brother's place in their lives as the only father they'd ever known and just tried to get to know the kids.

I liked watching them share memories as well. And I liked that Noah resolved old hurtful issues with his father.

I did think that Sophie was too stubborn and immovable when it came to compromise or even thinking about solutions to solving the tourist issue that arose. The final resolution seemed so obvious to me, yet it took the entire cast half the book to come up with it.

So there were a few things that gave me pause, but overall I enjoyed this book. I liked Brenna's straightforward style of writing that seemed to compliment the midwestern characters. I'll pick up the next in the series, which comes out in October.

Year of the Category - July: His Expectant Ex by Catherine Mann

Just seconds after signing divorce papers, Marianna Landis fainted. Shocked, her now ex-husband Sebastian discovered Marianna was three-and-a-half months pregnant. The timing was perfectly in line with their last impetuous night together. Incensed that his "wife" would still be so intent on their separation, Sebastian vowed to do anything to win her back. Seduction had worked once before…he'd make damn sure it would work again. For Marianna was carrying a Landis baby, and a Landis man keeps what is his!

It’s been a long time since I’ve read and enjoyed a Silhouette Desire. But I admit to being a Catherine Mann fangirl. And although I generally dislike Desires, when I realized that this book had several things going for it right off the bat, I couldn’t resist. Namely, it’s loosely related to the Wingman Warriors series (HUGE plus), it’s got one of my favorite themes – already marrieds trying to find their way back together, and … well… it’s a Catherine Mann. Pretty much a no-brainer.

As the book opens, Sebastian and Marianna are finishing up dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s on their divorce agreement. As they ride down the elevator together, they somehow end up in the car together and then celebrate the end of their relationship in the same manner in which they celebrated the beginning of their relationship – in the back seat of Sebastian’s car.

Fast forward a couple months, and they are in the courtroom completing the divorce. Marianna passes out after the divorce is finalized, and it comes out that she’s pregnant.

What I liked about this book, is that while it was obviously in Sebastian’s nature to play the alpha and carry her off in the Me Tarzan, You Jane way and force her to his will, and he desperately wanted to do so (and tried to many times), Mann didn’t take that stereotypical Harlequin route. Sebastian and Marianna were 3-dimensional characters with a boatload of loss behind them. She had suffered a miscarriage on their honeymoon (they married as teens due to her pregnancy). Then they suffered through years of infertility, and finally settled on adoption only to have the mother change her mind just before the adoption was finalized.

All this trauma was too much for their marriage to withstand, when they didn’t communicate well except in the bedroom. I liked that the characters took the time to really delve into what the problem was in their marriage – and that Mann gave them typical responses as well. Sebastian couldn’t talk about his grief about the loss of their adopted daughter. Marianna closed herself off after Sebastian started working excessive hours once their daughter was taken away. Their marriage didn’t crumble due to a lack of love, but due to a lack of communication.

They slowly had to build up their trust and lines of communication. It seemed they would take two steps forward and one step back. I enjoyed watching this marriage and friendship come back together. I liked seeing Sebastian do little things for Marianna – like bringing her special treats during her pregnancy. I liked It when they each came to the realization that their own behavior could have been misinterpreted – it wasn’t necessarily that they were wrong or that the other person was wrong. They each grew in their own right and grew to accept the other’s personality traits as a strength rather than a liability, and saw how their partner could see what they viewed as their own strengths as a potential weakness. Love it when characters grow and learn. I also liked watching some of the family interactions that surrounded them.

Having only read Mann’s military books before, this was a welcome departure, and I really enjoyed it. This is part of The Landis Brothers Series. I’ll go back and read book 1 as well.

Year of the Category: Major Westhaven's Unwilling Ward

This is my June entry for Kmont's Year of the Category Challenge.

Major Westhaven's Unwilling Ward by Emily Bascom
Lily is horrified to learn her late brother has placed her under the guardianship of brooding Major Daniel Westhaven! He's insufferably rude and arrogant, and clearly disapproves of her—so why does Lily find herself longing for his touch?

Battle-scarred Daniel wants nothing to do with society, and intends to swiftly fulfill his promise and find troublesome Lily a husband. Only, she brings light into his dark life—and his even darker heart. But surely a beauty like Lily would never choose a beast like him…
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This Harlequin Historical takes place in Post-Revolutionary War England. Lily's brother died in the war and left her guardianship to his superior officer and good friend Daniel Westhaven. Because Daniel himself is severely injured in the war, he cannot seek guardianship immediately, and Lily becomes destitute over the course of the next year. When they do finally meet, Lily is still so heartbroken when her brother is discussed that she rebuffs all discussion of him, leading Daniel to believe that she is nothing like her wonderful brother, didn't truly care deeply for him, and cares only for dancing and parties. In truth, much to her dismay, she has realized that she must find a husband and puts on a front at all the parties in order to attract a husband she really doesn't want. They obviously get off on the wrong foot, and each resents the other.

Thankfully, this misunderstanding is cleared up fairly quickly, and what we are left with is a simmering attraction to one another that Daniel is unwilling to act upon (with the exception of the few times he acts upon it - oops).

Overall, I found both Daniel and Lily to be likable characters. Daniel was obviously suffering emotionally far more than physically. Although he had come a long way in his recovery from his amputation, he hid it well, and was unwilling to allow Lily to see him as anything less than a "whole" man, which is obviously how he viewed himself. Lily was a strong character who, once she realized she wanted to be with Daniel, went out of her way to show him how great she thought he was.

I would have been happier had this book not contained a silly kidnapping plot. Why must authors persist in adding suspense when a simple (or not so simple) conflict works just as well? A rival for Lily's hand, Denham would have served just as well had he been a nasty rival rather than kidnapping her and forcing Daniel to kill him. Unless it serves to seriously forward the story (and here I don't feel like it did), I really wish that authors would just forego the kidnappings in otherwise non-suspense books. KThx.

Kidnapping aside, the best scenes are the ones where Daniel is forced to confront his own behavior and feelings, either with his longtime butler or with Lily. The scene where he finally reveals his amputation to her with tears in his eyes was very beautifully done.

I liked the author's voice, the characters, and the overall story. I could have done without the villain. I'd definitely read another book by Bascom, assuming it didn't contain another kidnapping plot to muck up the otherwise terrific book.

Year of the Category: His Substitute Bride by Elizabeth Lane

Annie never stopped loving Quint Seavers—not even after he fathered her sister Hannah’s child. Now Hannah is married to Quint’s brother Judd, and their little girl Clara is six years old. When Quint invites Annie to bring Clara to San Francisco for a visit, she jumps at the chance. Maybe after this trip she’ll be able to put Quint behind her and accept the wealthy man who wants her as his wife.

Quint always thought of Annie as Hannah’s kid sister. Now Annie has grown into a beautiful, spirited, woman—a woman made for his arms and his bed. But when danger demands the ultimate sacrifice, will their newfound love survive?

This book is the follow-up to The Borrowed Bride, which I positively loved. This is the story of the brother who lost out on the bride - Quint, and the sister of the bride, Annie.

It's set in 1906 San Fransisco right at the time of the earthquake. Annie brings her niece to San Francisco to visit her 'uncle' (really, Quint is the little girl's father - read The Borrowed Bride for details). Annie has been in love with Quint forever, and he always thought of her as his girlfriend's little sister. Well lo and behold, Annie is all grown up and Quint is taken aback by his feelings for her.

Parts of this book were really well done. I did like the romance between Annie and Quint. I would have liked it if the book had concentrated on that. Instead, we are treated to a suspense plot in which the little girl is kidnapped, and Annie and Quint fall in love while searching for her. He's a pretty selfish guy - out for the story. Even as the earthquake has hit, and Annie is trying to get herself and Quint's daughter out of San Francisco, he stays behind rather than get them out safely because it's his job to report on the earthquake. Right after they make love for the first time, he taking her virginity, he gets up and goes off. Quint was fairly immature and self-centered. In fact, even as they are marrying, Annie ruminates, "Marriage to Quint wouldn't be easy. Annie had come to accept that." Not something I'd want to be thinking on my wedding day.

So, while I did like portions of this Harlequin Historical, it was nowhere near as good or as emotionally deep and satisfying as its predecessor.

Year of the Category - February: Dancing in the Moonlight by Raeanne Thayne

This is a 2006 SSE that was included in the 16 free downloads from Harlequin last month. Maggie Cruz and Jake Dalton have known each other since childhood. He's the town doctor, and she's a nurse who is also a BTK amputee, suffered while serving as a reservist in the war. She's come home to lick her wounds. She holds a serious grudge against Jake's family, believing them to be responsible for her father's death.

SSE is one of the lines that I still really love to read. I loved Jake, and I liked Maggie - a lot. She had a chip on her shoulder, but who could blame her, really? Thayne wrote the characters with a lot of introspective dialogue, and while there was some extraneous storyline, it never took the focus off of the two main characters and their journey toward their HEA. They share a long history together, and Thayne tied that in to how Jake fell in love with Maggie really beautifully.

I also like that Maggie seemed to come to terms with her amputation and her new limitations honestly - determined to overcome the physical while denying the emotional. Seemed a very honest response to me - not always likeable, but very honest.

I enjoyed the glimpses into their families as well. Although I haven't read any of the rest of the series (I'm not even sure how many others there are), I was easily able to understand their stories and fit the history in. I wouldn't mind looking for the brothers' books on PBS or at a UBS.

Jake was a great hero, Maggie a good heroine, despite her bristliness. All in all, a good read, and I'm glad that Harlequin included it in their freebies this month.

Year of the Category - January: The Horseman's Son by Delores Fossen

Blurb: From the moment he first saw his son, ranchman Dylan Greer knew the baby he'd adopted was his in every way that mattered. And no one--not even the beautiful, strong-willed cop who claimed she was the child's mother--was going to change that. Collena Drake swore a criminal ring had stolen her baby and that someone was crossing every line to keep the illegal adoption secret. Now, in order to protect one innocent child, Collena made him a tempting offer: get married and share custody. As a businessman, Dylan thought the plan brilliant. But as a man...resisting his "bride," especially as the danger mounted, would be damn near impossible.
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While I still read a lot of Harlequins, I tend not to buy a lot of Intrigues. One of the things that I love about the Intrigue line is also one of the things that I find makes it so unbelievable as well. The stories take place in a very quick, fast, blink-of-an-eye time frame. This one is no exception. Within less than a week's time, Collena and Dylan have met, squared off over their son, Adam, gotten married, are insanely attracted to one another, have sex, and fall in love - all while fighting off attempts on Collena's life. Pretty unbelievable.

Yet there is something tremendously enjoyable about the Intrigue line anyway. I enjoyed Collena's smarts. Her desire to find her son and be a mother to him. She's no victim.

Dylan is not a cookie cutter hero, either. He was a guy with doubts - all the way. Doubts about the right path to take in order to protect his son, doubts about being with Collena, doubts about his past.

This book fits in with the Intrigue model - high on suspense and action; low on the angst and emotion. We never really get a good glimpse into who these people truly are. That's more a product of the length of this book, I think, than anything else. Fossen makes a really good start, especially on Dylan and his past - all his loves have ended up either dead or attacked in some way. The impact on him has been severe. Unfortunately, the length prevents a fully in-depth exploration of this, and the mixup of the danger plots - the attempts on Collena's life are two-fold - make it nearly impossible to delve into any of the issues that either Dylan or Collena have - and Fossen makes it plain that they have many.

I feel about this book the way I do so many of te Intrigue line... I so wish that it could have been another 150 pages long. It could have been a great book. Instead, it was a quick, skimmy read that never completely engaged me. Which is a shame, because I think that Fossen is a terrific author. I enjoyed it, but not as much as I enjoy other books in other lines.